The Dutch House - Ann Patchett - 2019
A Novel
By: Ann Patchett
Narrated by: Tom Hanks
Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 09-24-19
Language: English
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperAudio
Format: mp3 64/48 stereo
Publisher's Summary
Audiobook performed by Tom Hanks.
From the New York Times best-selling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder comes Ann Patchett’s most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love, and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves, and of who we really are.
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.
©2019 Ann Patchett (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
Critic Reviews
"Tom Hanks narrates this novel about Danny and Maeve, and their beloved childhood home, The Dutch House, with a restraint that admirably captures the writing's surface calm and buried tension.... Hanks takes his narrative cue from Danny, who tells the story in a mix of bemusement, wonder, and nostalgia. It's not a dramatic performance but is, instead, a sensitive and warm reading of a fine novel about love, loyalty, redemption, forgiveness, and what we will do to make the world the way we want it to be." (AudioFile Magazine)
Editor's Pick
This narrator = The best news of the season!
As editors at Audible we often can't get an early "read" on a new title coming out until we know who the narrator is, because—of course—that can really make or break the experience. So I was over the moon to hear that the newest novel by the brilliant Ann Patchett, (unorthodox opinion: The Magician's Assistant is my favorite of her works) would be performed by Tom Hanks, I knew I already had my top pick of the fall lined up. Having listened to the collection of short stories he penned a few years ago, I knew that Hanks would balance the honest with the sweet, blending levity with gravitas. And that balance is critical because The Dutch House, like many of Patchett's novels, delves into and wrenchingly describes the sensitive intricacies of a very singular family, serving up humor, cynicism, and immense pain in a way that is completely unique to the players at hand.
—Emily C., Audible Editor
24/7 Seedbox Support
